http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socotra_Rock , Socotra Rock Coordinates: 32°07′22.63″N 125°10′56.81″E / 32.1229528°N 125.1824472°E / 32.1229528; 125.1824472 is a submerged rock 4.6 meters (15 ft) below sea level (at low tide) located in the East China Sea. The rock is the subject of a territorial dispute between South Korea, which considers it to lie within its exclusive economic zone, referring to it as Ieodo (이어도[ŋi ŋΛ do]/離於島; MR: Iŏdo) or Parangdo (파랑도[pa raŋ do]/波浪島; MR: P'arangdo)[1], and China, which considers it to lie within its exclusive economic zone and refers to it as Suyan Rock (苏岩礁/소암초[so ŋam co]). The rock currently serves as the foundation for the Korean Ieodo Ocean Research Station.[2] A helipad is also located there to allow the research station to be serviced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socotra , Socotra (Arabic: سُقُطْرَى‎ Suquṭra), also spelt Soqotra, is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some 240 kilometres (150 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula.[1] The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth. The island measures 132 kilometres (82 mi) in length and 49.7 kilometres (30.9 mi) in width.[2]

>> The Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群岛 서사군도 [sΛ sa gun do] in Chinese) is a group of islands under the administration of Hainan 海南/해남 [hæ nam] Province, The People's Republic of China. Vietnam and the Republic of China (Taiwan) also claim sovereignty of these islands.

>> The islands are divided into two main groups. The Amphitrite group (宣德群岛/선덕군도 [sΛn dΛg gun do]) is in the northeast and the Crescent group (永乐群岛/영악군도 [yΛŋ ŋag gun do]) is in the southwest, and they are located about 70 km (43 mi) from one another. Subject to hot and humid climate, with abundant rainfall and frequent typhoons, the archipelago is surrounded by productive fishing grounds and potential oil and gas reserves. Notably, up until the early 19th century, the present-day Spratly Islands were still delineated as part of the Paracel archipelago, and the sovereignty over the islands has been inflaming the century-old dispute.

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs,[2] islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea between Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Brunei. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land area, spread over more than 425,000 square kilometers of sea. The Spratlys are part of the three archipelagos of the South China Sea, comprising more than 30,000 islands and reefs and which so complicates geography, governance and economics in that region of Southeast Asia. Such small and remote islands have little economic value in themselves, but are important in establishing international boundaries. There are no native islanders but there are rich fishing grounds and initial surveys indicate the islands may contain significant oil and gas.

About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from Vietnam, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia, the Philippines. Brunei has claimed an EEZ in the southeastern part of the Spratlys encompassing just one area of small islands above mean high water (on Louisa Reef.)

>> Political divisions: • Vietnam: Part of Khanh Hoa Province; • Brunei: Claims Louisa Reef itself, as well as an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around that and neighboring reefs;[3] • Malaysia: Part of the state of Sabah (also claimed by the Philippines); • Philippines: Part of Palawan province; • People's Republic of China: Part of the Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority, Hainan province; • Republic of China: Part of Kaohsiung municipality

>> Ancient Chinese maps record the "Thousand Li Stretch of Sands"; Qianli Changsha (千里長沙/천리장사 [cΛn li zaŋ sa]) and the "Ten-Thousand Li of Stone Pools"; Wanli Shitang (萬里石塘/만리석당 [man li sΛg daŋ]),[7] which China today claims refers to the Spratly Islands. The Wanli Shitang have been explored by the Chinese since the Yuan Dynasty and may have been considered within their national boundaries. [8][9] They are also referenced in the 13th century,[10] followed by the Ming Dynasty.[11] When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the Qing Dynasty continued to include the territory in maps compiled in 1724,[12] 1755,[13] 1767,[14] 1810,[15] and 1817.[16] A Vietnamese map from 1834 also includes the Spratly Islands clumped in with the Paracels (a common occurrence on maps of that time) labeled as "Wanli Changsha".[17]

Yonaguni (与那国島/여나국도 [yΛ na gug do], Yonaguni-jima?, Yonaguni: どぅなん‎ Dunan, Okinawan: ユナグニ, Yunaguni) is one of the Yaeyama Islands. It is the westernmost inhabited island of Japan and lies 108 kilometers (67 mi) from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean proper.

Japan intends to station 100 troops on Yonaguni to counter the buildup of Chinese forces in the area.[1]

Yonaguni, more specifically Cape Irizaki24°26′58″N 122°56′01″E / 24.44944°N 122.93361°E / 24.44944; 122.93361 (Yonaguni (West)) at the western tip of the island, is the westernmost point of Japan. Taiwan is said to be visible from Irizaki on a clear day.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Hans+Island , Hans Island (Greenlandic/Inuktitut: Tartupaluk; Danish: Hans Ø; French: Île Hans) is a small, uninhabited barren knoll measuring 1.3 km2 (0.5 sq mi), located in the centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait—the strait that separates Ellesmere Island from northern Greenland and connects Baffin Bay with the Lincoln Sea. Hans Island is the smallest of three islands located in Kennedy Channel; the others are Franklin Island and Crozier Island. The island has been part of Inuit hunting grounds long before people of European descent became aware of its existence.